Gwen trains hard and plays hard

Gwen is doing really well with her training - and enjoying life with it!

Let's look at some training first, because that's really what this is all about.

Below, you can see some brilliant settling.

While his Volunteer Puppy Trainers Sandy and Colin peruse the restaurant menu, Gwen just... settles. No bother, no fuss. She isn't scared by the hustle and bustle, or desperate for attention. She knows she just needs to relax and she'll get lots of love as a result. Brilliant.

Gwen is also getting good at impulse control. This is how we teach our dogs that, if they're patient, they'll get a treat. A favourite way of doing this is putting biscuits on their paws, and they learn that, if they just wait, they'll get lots more!

Gwen is doing really well!

Next, a video showing recall. This is very important: Gwen's deaf partner will need to have confidence that, if they call Gwen, she will come running back. The last thing a deaf person needs is to have lost their dog. Watch what happens below:

We don't think we've ever seen such an extreme recall. It's immediate, and faultless. This is tribute to Gwen being clever, but also Colin, Sandy and Puppy Training Instructor Karin who together have made such a great team and helped her achieve such fantastic results.

Gwen is equally at home indoors as well as outdoors. Time for two more videos to demonstrate this, as Gwen shows exemplary behaviour around a garden centre.

She's as happy saying hello to people and accepting a bit of a fuss...

... as she is walking calmly alongside Sandy and Karin.

Deaf people can sometimes feel lonely and isolated. A hearing dog, as well as helping them practically, can really help them to 'reconnect' with the world, and you can see why. Just a bit of a pat and a stroke, a small chat, a bit of interaction, all help to make a deaf person feel more part of the world around them.

How about some fun now?

No, we don't know what Gwen finds so fascinating about the grass either, or why she wants to run around in circles! All we know is, she looks so happy.

She's in such a great household, with the care and attention of Colin and Sandy. Here's Sandy, relaxing in the background while Gwen strikes a pose for the camera.

Here's Colin, introducing Gwen to a horse.

And here's their granddaughter who absolutely adores Gwen!

Colin tells us: "Gwen is friends with everyone, from us to total strangers. All get the Gwennie mobbing, and no one gets preferential treatment, with the exception of our granddaughter, who states that 'Gwen is my best friend ever.'"

Like anyone though, Gwen likes a bit of 'me' time, for example sticking her head under the curtain to watch life go by.

At the end of the day though, she's a happy, healthy puppy, doing ever so well. Here she is getting superstar treatment as she enters the Grange Restaurant and Gift Shop, which we have on-site at our training centre in Buckinghamshire.

See what we mean? Happy!

This is all being made possible through your kindness, so once again, thank you for sponsoring Gwen!